


gonna get to you anyway

by queermccoy



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), First Dates, Librarian Mike Hanlon, M/M, Mechanic Eddie Kaspbrak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22685851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queermccoy/pseuds/queermccoy
Summary: Eddie isn’t out, really, to anyone he doesn’t text regularly. Even if he was, it isn’t like he keeps a sign around his neck advertising that he’s gay. Being with Mike though, it makes him feel pretty safe. Not fully safe, not that Eddie even knows what that would feel like, but safe enough that he squeezes Mike’s hand back instead of letting go.Mike flushes and it’s hard to see in the low light of the street lamps dotting their journey, but it’s there. Eddie wants to kiss his cheeks and see his smile forever.Or, a first date.
Relationships: Mike Hanlon/Eddie Kaspbrak
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	gonna get to you anyway

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Rebecca Black’s Anyway, which slaps somehow. 
> 
> This is a filler scene from my twitter social media au where the Losers never left Derry/there is no Pennywise. Check that out [here](https://twitter.com/queermccoy/status/1220142327299301378?s=21) if you want? 
> 
> Otherwise this this just a first date fic! Just know that Eddie thought Mike asking him out on a date was a library programming thing and not a date at all, so when he finds out it was supposed to be a date he freaked out and asked Mike out that night. Hence: impromptu date! Enjoy!

Eddie Kaspbrak pulls up to the curb in front of the Derry Public Library at 7:25 with five minutes to spare. He likes to be early to things, important things, and this is extremely important. He’s going on a date with Mike Hanlon. 

He knows that Mike’s Stitch and Bitch thing will probably go over 7:30, because old people have no sense of time after retirement, and Mike will need to close down the library for the night before he can come out and join Eddie in his truck. Eddie uses the time to do one of the breathing exercises his therapist taught him, breathing in for three beats, then out for three, while making the shape of a box in the air in front of his face. He’s nervous, extremely nervous, to go on this impromptu date, but once he knew Mike wanted to take him out he couldn’t just wait around and make a casual dinner plan; Eddie’s not a casual guy. If this goes well, if Mike has a nice time, he’s going to be embarrassingly all in from the start. 

At 7:34, the library’s doors open and a group of locals, all carrying large canvas bags, filter out onto the sidewalk. They’re generally younger than Eddie expected people crafting in a library to be. One of the attendees can’t be a day over 17. Eddie is impressed by Mike’s ability to make the library a place people want to hang out at. When Eddie was a kid, the librarian was a mean tyrant who always kicked them out as soon as Richie started talking, which means Eddie doesn’t actually know what it has to offer because before his volunteer work, he’d never been inside for more than five minutes. 

Eddie figures Mike will be out any minute and pulls out his phone to bide his time until then. He is freaking out, solidly freaking out, but he doesn’t want to text his friends. They’re probably laughing at him for being this oblivious. How did he not know that Mike asked him out? How did he not realize? 

Instead of chastising himself further, Eddie unlocks his phone and Googles, for the seventh time this evening, _fun things to do in Derry Maine _. Once again the results show nothing. Eddie still isn’t sure what he and Mike will be doing on this date, this 7:30 on a Wednesday night date.__

__Eddie groans, leaning forward to thump his forehead against his steering wheel. He does it again for good measure before tapping open the Facebook app. He mindlessly scrolls through the events section with the location parameters narrowed until something catches his eye. He blinks and selects the event, bringing him to the page itself, just to make sure it’s real._ _

__Eddie slams back in his seat and presses his phone into his chest. He closes his eyes and sighs in relief. Thank god, something fun, something exciting, something that will wow Mike the way he deserves to be wowed._ _

__At 7:45, Mike walks out of the library. He climbs into the passenger seat of Eddie’s truck and smiles at Eddie in a way that makes him feel like he’s standing in a pile of cotton candy. Eddie does what he can to smile back._ _

__Mike is wearing a soft looking red pullover sweater. His reading glasses are resting on his chest, hanging around his neck on a silver glasses chain that shines in the street lamp next to Eddie’s truck._ _

__“Hi,” Eddie breathes, because someone had to say it first._ _

__“Hey,” Mike agrees, sounding equally as breathless. “What’s the plan?”_ _

__Eddie slides his phone into his pocket and places his hand on the gearshift. He says to Mike, “Do you like Harry Potter?”_ _

__Mike blinks and says, “Of course I like Harry Potter, who doesn’t like Harry Potter?”_ _

__“There’s a festival in Bangor tonight, a Harry Potter festival. If we hurry I think we can make the tail end of it.” Eddie is proud of his date find, especially on such short notice. The way Mike’s face lights up under the glow of the street lamp makes his chest ache. He preens, grinning and wriggling in his seat._ _

__“I forgot that was this week!” Mike says enthusiastically, and Eddie takes that to mean that he is up for the drive to Bangor. He shifts his truck into drive and pulls away from the curb._ _

__It’s a little awkward at first. They don’t really know each other in this way, in any way that isn’t professional and tidy. The time Mike went to Richie’s show, Eddie was so upset that he spent the whole thing trying to get back at his friend and didn’t really pay attention to Mike at all. Even the time, after the first day of his program, when Mike joined him at the garage, was wrapped up in professionalism. It was for Eddie anyway, who probably would have tried harder not to get motor oil all over his jumpsuit if he’d known Mike was there for personal reasons._ _

__Mike is good at filling silences though, and he starts telling Eddie about last year’s Harry Potter festival, long stories starring himself, Bill, and one of the other employees from the library. Eddie likes the sound of his voice and the way he talks only slightly faster when he’s excited. He can’t look away from the road, really, since he’s driving 10 to 15 over the speed limit in the dark, but he can _hear _how cute Mike is being.___ _

____Mike explains the Hogwarts Houses to Eddie because he doesn’t know what they are. He’s never seen Harry Potter and he’s never read the books. He doesn’t usually go in on fantasy stuff, preferring sci-fi with robots and space flight to dragons and magic. Eddie interrupts Mike’s explanation to ask, “Which are you? That’s a thing people do, right? They sort themselves?”_ _ _ _

____“They do,” Mike says. “There’s an official quiz you can take online too. I’m a Ravenclaw.” He sounds so serious about it, and it makes Eddie smile. Mike is a seemingly straight laced, buttoned down kind of guy, but under all of that he’s weird and Eddie thinks that’s so great. He thinks Mike is so great._ _ _ _

____He says, “What am I?”_ _ _ _

____Mike thinks for a moment and then says, “Gryffindor.”_ _ _ _

____“Cool,” Eddie doesn’t know what that means. He might Google it later if Mike doesn’t explain it to him first._ _ _ _

____In Bangor, Eddie finds a place to park that won't cost him a fortune and he and Mike walk down Center Street together, brushing hands and blushing. The party is almost over, tents are packing up and cart tables draped in sparkling cloth are empty. Mike points things out to Eddie, explaining what they are or what they were supposed to be, if they’d gotten there sooner. Eddie says that he’s thirsty and Mike makes a stop in a bagel store for a paper cup of over priced Butterbeer. It tastes terrible, but they both drink it anyway. Mike makes him take a picture with a painted lion on a cardboard stand._ _ _ _

____Eddie’s having a good time, and Mike is too, he can tell. His rampant and usually unstoppable anxiety is nowhere to be seen and his face hurts from smiling. Mike is excited about everything, even if the festival is basically over._ _ _ _

____They wave goodbye to someone who had been selling wands before her stock ran out and begin to walk back to the truck. Eddie doesn’t tuck his hands into his pockets and he’s both terrified and relieved when Mike threads their fingers together._ _ _ _

____Eddie isn’t out, really, to anyone he doesn’t text regularly. Even if he was, it isn’t like he keeps a sign around his neck advertising that he’s gay. Being with Mike though, it makes him feel pretty safe. Not fully safe, not that Eddie even knows what that would feel like, but safe enough that he squeezes Mike’s hand back instead of letting go._ _ _ _

____Mike flushes and it’s hard to see in the low light of the street lamps dotting their journey, but it’s there. Eddie wants to kiss his cheeks and see his smile forever._ _ _ _

____The drive back is full of chatter, more two-sided this time because they’re talking about podcasts they love and true crime documentaries they’ve both seen and enjoyed. Mike, like Eddie, appreciates a good conspiracy and they talk about Elizabeth Holmes for ten miles. Eddie finds himself driving slower and slower to draw out their conversation._ _ _ _

____“Hey, pull off here,” Mike tells him, pointing to a dark road off the main stretch. Eddie does, and it takes him a solid minute before he realizes where they’re going._ _ _ _

____The Kissing Bridge. Eddie’s been, of course. Been to the bridge before. Somewhere on this bridge Richie carved his and Eddie initials, because he’d been young and in love. He’d also carved his and Stan’s and his and Connor Bowers’ and his and every other guy he ever thought he loved. Eddie’s not really like that. He preferred to doodle in a notebook and call it a day. Plus, until about a year and a half ago, he’d thought he was just a sad straight man instead of an anxious gay one._ _ _ _

____He kind of wants to carve his and Mike’s initials into the bridge. He knows it’s a foolish, immature and frankly weird thought, but he lets himself hold it anyway._ _ _ _

____He parks where the kids used to when they wanted to make out but didn’t have the privacy to do so at home. The butterflies that live permanently in his stomach start flapping and he grabs the steering wheel so hard his knuckles glow in the dark. Mike tells him to turn off the engine and he does._ _ _ _

____“Are we going to make out?” Eddie asks, out of breath like he’s just run up the stairs. He sputters and tries again, “Do you want to make out?”_ _ _ _

____Mike laughs, and it’s low and quiet. Eddie can’t see much by the light of the moon, but he sees the shape of Mike leaning in._ _ _ _

____“I do want to make out. If you do?” He asks Eddie, who has never wanted anything more in his whole life. He nods, a little frantically, and sags forward with relief when Mike closes the gap between them. It’s a light press of lips, close mouthed and sweet, and it makes Eddie’s whole body go numb. He closes his eyes and presses harder, vibrating with the realness of kissing Mike Hanlon. He opens his mouth and asks Mike to open his with his tongue, sweeping it along the seam of his lips._ _ _ _

____He doesn’t though. He pulls back and cups Eddie’s face with one giant, soft hand. Normally, Eddie would feel embarrassed right now, but with Mike he just feels held. He tucks his face into Mike’s palm and kisses the surprisingly rough skin there. He remembers that Mike lived on a farm when they were kids, homeschooled until high school, and he wonders if he still does. He wants to know everything about Mike._ _ _ _

____When Mike kisses him again, he feels calm, settled. Mike lets him lead and set the pace, but doesn’t give in when Eddie tries to push him back into his seat. Instead, he sets his hands on Eddie’s shoulders and climbs into his lap, knees on either side of Eddie’s hips in the driver’s side of the truck. He breaks their kiss long enough for him to set his hands on Eddie’s cheeks, hands curled around the delicate bones in his face. Mike tips him back and back and back and holds him while he kisses him, almost chastely, small and lingering just enough that Eddie feels absolutely dizzy with want._ _ _ _

____“Fuck, Mike,” he says, because there’s nothing else to say. Eddie kisses him and slides his tongue against Mike’s, making himself shudder with it._ _ _ _

____“I like you a lot, Eddie Kaspbrak,” Mike whispers, voice hoarse. He touches the side of Eddie’s neck before he stoops down to kiss where he’d touched. He does it again and again, sucking a bruise over the collar of Eddie’s shirt._ _ _ _

____Eddie moans, loud and crass, and says through the end of it, “I like you a lot too, Mike Hanlon.”_ _ _ _

____They neck like teenagers, something Eddie never got to do when he was one, and when it gets late Eddie drives Mike back to the library, to his car, so he can go home for the night._ _ _ _

____At the library, in the dark, Eddie walks Mike across the otherwise empty parking lot to his car. He feels shy in a way he hadn’t when they were at the bridge. He’s worried maybe Mike changed his mind, or worried that he hasn’t._ _ _ _

____“Hey,” Mike says, interrupting Eddie’s thoughts. He presses his hand on the juncture between Eddie’s shoulder and his neck, directly over the place where, only ten minutes before, he’d sucked a dark hickey. He squeezes and it sends a shiver down Eddie’s spine._ _ _ _

____“Hey,” Eddie says back when he doesn’t elaborate. Mike smiles at him and even though it’s almost midnight, Eddie feels like the sun is in his eyes._ _ _ _

____“I’ll text you in the morning, Cab,” he says, laughing. Eddie sighs and rolls his eyes but stops abruptly when Mike squeezes his shoulder again._ _ _ _

____“Okay,” Eddie blinks and leans into Mike’s space and kisses his cheek, lips lingering and prickled on his stumble. He says, “Goodnight.”_ _ _ _

____“Good… night...” Mike replies, kissing him between each word. A peck on the lips._ _ _ _

____Eddie reaches up a hand and rests it against Mike’s cheek, where his lips had just been, and pulls him down for a deeper kiss, biting and licking into his mouth. Mike groans and rubs his thumb against that spot on Eddie’s throat._ _ _ _

____“Fuck,” Mike gasps, pulling away. This is the first time Eddie can ever remember hearing him swear and he likes it. He wants to hear it again. “Okay, goodnight for real!”_ _ _ _

____“Okay,” Eddie agrees, but presses up on his tiptoes to kiss him again, one last time._ _ _ _

____“Goodnight,” Mike says, unlocking his car._ _ _ _

____“Goodnight,” Eddie says, opening the driver’s side door to his truck._ _ _ _

____“Goodnight,” Mike says again, getting into his car. He holds the door open, half in and half out._ _ _ _

____Eddie smiles and laughs, ducking his head. He gets into his truck and shuts the door. He watches Mike do the same._ _ _ _

____Before he pulls out of the lot, Mike blows him a cheesy little kiss through the windows of their vehicles. Eddie is mortified with himself when he mimes catching it._ _ _ _

____Alone, fully, Eddie presses his hands to his face and grins so hard he can feel the corners of his mouth creak. He looks over at the passenger’s seat and sees Mike there, again, and thinks that he looked so right there, good and solid and strong. His sweater had felt so warm in Eddie’s hands._ _ _ _

____He can’t wait to do it again._ _ _ _


End file.
